Stephen Clemence

Tottenham Hotspur

The first team Clemence played for was Tottenham Hotspur, for whom he made his debut against Manchester United on 10 August 1997, a match Tottenham lost 2–0. His season was cut much shorter by a four-day spell in February 1998, during which time Clemence picked up a red card against Barnsley. He involved himself to a greater degree the following season, displaying more of the form which won him a place in the England U21 side. He scored three times during his spell at Spurs, his first coming in the 1997–98 FA Cup against Fulham, followed by two league goals against Derby County and Sunderland. Despite not being part of Tottenham's squad for the 1999 Football League Cup Final he made three appearances during their victorious League Cup campaign. Clemence's injury woes started when he suffered a torn medial ligament in his left knee, following a collision with Blackburn Rovers midfielder Garry Flitcroft in a match at Ewood Park in August 2001. His injury required surgery and was thought he would be out for three months. However, despite clocking up a few hours of football in the reserves, he played only three first-team matches at the end of the 2001–02 season. Further injuries prevented his returning to training until October 2002. In what turned out to be his last season at Tottenham, Clemence played only once, in a 2–1 League Cup defeat to Burnley on 6 November 2002, in which he picked up a calf injury.

Birmingham City

When Clemence…

Having coached youth sides during his playing career, Clemence joined Steve Bruce's staff at Sunderland as a development coach with the reserve team in the summer of 2010 having played for him at Birmingham City. On 2 July 2012, it was announced that Clemence had been appointed head coach of the under-21s at Hull City, before later being promoted to first-team coach under Bruce. In October 2016, after contributing to two promotions to the Premier League and a run to the 2014 FA Cup final, Clemence left Hull City and reunited with Bruce again, this time as Aston Villa's first-team coach. Clemence helped the Villains reach the Championship play-off final in 2018 having achieved a fourth-place domestic finish, in addition to helping develop talent such as Jack Grealish. Grealish spoke of Clemence's impact by saying: "I asked Stephen if he could help me and make me a better player. I am really close with him, he is the closest I have been out of all the assistant managers I have had. We go through all of my clips and discuss where I am going right or wrong. I am glad to have someone like Stephen taking the time out to help me and improve". On 3 October 2018, Bruce left the club, along with staff including Clemence. On 2 January 2019, Sheffield Wednesday announced the appointment of Bruce as the club's head coach from 1 February, while Clemence and Steve Agnew would be in charge of the team until his arrival from which point Clemence functioned as first-team coach. Clemence…

On 1 November 2023, Clemence was appointed head coach of League Two side Gillingham in his first managerial appointment. On 29 April 2024, following the final match of the season, he was sacked following a twelfth-place finish, six points off of the play-off places. On 31 May 2024, Clemence was appointed head coach of fellow League Two side Barrow on a two-year deal. On 18 January 2025, Clemence departed the club, following a run of poor form.

Clemence was capped by the England national under-18 team, scoring two goals in seven appearances, between 1995 and 1996. He was capped once by the under-21 team, as a substitute in a 2–0 away win over Sweden on 4 September 1998. He was eligible to play for Northern Ireland through his Northern Ireland-born grandmother. Clemence rejected the chance to represent the country in both May and July 2004, a decision which manager Lawrie Sanchez said he would respect. Sanchez did ask Clemence to reconsider in October 2006, but he never represented a national team at senior level.